


Photographs, Mirrors and the Stories We Tell In Between

by goddess_julie



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, mini nanowrimo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-05
Updated: 2013-11-05
Packaged: 2017-12-31 15:17:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1033215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goddess_julie/pseuds/goddess_julie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jensen and Jared meet at the University of Texas, Dallas, living across the hall from one another.  This is the story of how they get together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Photographs, Mirrors and the Stories We Tell In Between

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as my Day 5 fic for Mini Nanowrimo on LJ. I'm doing 30 fics in 30 days in different fandoms. I wrote me some J2 fic <3 and had the prompt of _“remember the photo that came with the picture frame you purchased? Invent a history for that person or those people”_
> 
> Also? I'm a big nerd. There's that.

Jared’s parents had finally left. It wasn’t a long drive back to San Antonio from Dallas, but he knew his parents had to make sure that Megan was ready for school to start on Monday and they had plans for the weekend to start converting his old room into a study. He had laughed as his parents assured him that they weren’t, but he’d been around when Jeff had gone away to school and from the time it took for his father to drive him to the airport and get back to the house, his mother had already cleared out his room and was checking colour swatches for the walls.

As nervous as he was to be starting his Masters Program, already completing four years of undergrad with Honours, he knew that he was going to have a lot on his plate this year. He had an average to maintain to keep his full scholarship, one that paid for his housing on campus as well as his meal plan, books and everything he would need for the next few years. And then, if he wanted to continue on with his PhD… well he hadn’t even opened his suitcases, so he was definitely getting ahead of himself just a little bit. By the time he had fully unpacked, his parents had called to let him know they had arrived home safely. He laid comfortably on the standard bed that was issued with the room, pleased that his mother had washed his comforter and sheets to smell like home. It wasn’t his first time living away, but that was undergrad, that was him trying to figure out what the hell he wanted to do with his life and wondering if he would be able to manage his course load along with going out, getting laid and having fun. Now he had to settle down and be focused.

The sound of someone moving around in the room across the hall alerted Jared. He stood up and opened his door, looking up and down the hallway to see if anyone else had opted to check into the dorms early. He knew that a lot of people liked to wait until the last minute to move in, spend as much time at home as possible before going away to school, but Jared had been eager to get started and make sure he was settled before having to learn a whole new group of people’s names, faces and majors. Thankfully he’d been placed in a building that was primarily Graduate Students so that he knew they would be as focused as he was. At least he’d hoped so anyways. Just as he was about to go back into his room the door behind him opened and Jared looked over his shoulder.

It took him less than two seconds to fall in love. Ten seconds to be able to think clearly enough to close his mouth where his jaw had dropped down. The most beautiful man Jared Padalecki had ever seen, in person, was standing at the door across the hall from his, wearing a pair of perfectly fit jeans, a dark green shirt that brought out the colour of his gorgeous eyes and a lopsided smile. His eyes looked like he’d just woke up and Jared fought every single desire that flared up inside of him not to go over and pin him to the wall and see if his mouth tasted as deliciously soft and ripe as it looked.

“Hey,” the man said, his voice deep and gruff.

Jared felt his groin tighten and twitch in appreciation. “Uhhhh hey.” 

The stranger rubbed his eyes under the glasses he wore and yawned. The movement stretched his tee shirt up his stomach so a flash of skin was visible and Jared honest to god whimpered at the sight. 

“Just move in?”

Jared could only nod. 

The man smiled. “I’m Jensen.”

“Jared.”

“Nice to meet you Jared,” Jensen said. He left his door ajar as he headed past Jared towards the communal bathrooms that intersected one hallway from another.

“You’re gorgeous,” Jared blurted out as Jensen disappeared into one of the stalls. He heard the other man’s laughter echoing and the door closed.

“Let’s see if you feel the same way at four in the morning and I have a paper to write with no inspiration and we’re out of coffee.” Jensen stuck his head out of the door and grinned. “Then we’ll see how gorgeous you think I am.”

Jared slapped himself on the forehead in embarrassment. “You’ll still be gorgeous,” he whispered to himself, adding a ‘dumbass move Jared,” at the end.

Once Jared got over his embarrassment at his obvious inability to not blurt out endearments and professions of love and adoration to Jensen whenever they were in the same room he realized that he and Jensen had a lot in common. Their families were oddly similar, both with older brothers and younger sisters, from Texas and both studying Behavioural Sciences. They got along great, spent a lot of time together when not studying or in class and even found each other out when they needed to just get out of the dorm to let off steam.

They were in Jared’s room one night, after dinner and before each were heading over to the library for some more research for respective papers. “What is this?” Jensen asked, picking up a picture from Jared’s beside table.

“A picture frame?”

“But who are these people?”

Jared smiled fondly. It was a picture of four friends, two girls and two guys, all dressed in hipster clothing with giant smiles on their faces, arms wrapped around each other. The frame read “Best Friends” and all four of them looked like the best of friends. “Those are me and my friends.”

Jensen did a double take, first looking at the picture and then to Jared. With uproarious laughter he handed the frame to Jared. “Sorry man, but none of these people are you.” Before Jared could grab the frame Jensen took a closer look. “Fuck, this is the picture that comes WITH the frame. Are you kidding me? Are you that much of a loser that you have to pretend that you have friends?” His laughter was infectious and suddenly Jared was laughing as well. “I’m serious Jared, at least say it’s not you in the picture, because clearly none of these people are you.”

Jared pushed Jensen playfully and grabbed the frame. He pulled the back off and showed Jensen the picture that was underneath. It WAS a picture of Jared and three of his friends, one other guy and two girls, all in the exact same pose as the people in the original picture as though they were mimicking them. Jensen’s laughter intensified and Jared motioned for Jensen to sit on the bed with him. 

“Okay so here’s the story. My ex gave me this picture frame right, best friends. Except we weren’t best friends. I don’t even think he liked me that much let alone loved me. So he gave me the frame and wanted me to put pictures of us in it but every picture I put in wasn’t up to his standards. He didn’t like how he looked in the picture, or I was stealing the good light or whatever. So finally I said fuck it, and just kept the picture that came in the frame there. It sat on my nightstand and every night I’d look at it and finally I started making up stories about the people in the picture frame. How happy they were and what they were doing right before and after the picture had been taken.

Jensen’s laughter had simmered down to heavy breathing and a big smile, their shoulders touching as they sat side by side on the narrow bed. Jared held the two pictures side by side, placing them one over the other back and forth. 

“And then one day a friend of mine Genevieve was at my dorm studying, she saw the picture and asked me who these people were and why I had them on my nightstand I told her my story for them and she agreed, adding a bit of her own bits and pieces to the story. My roommate Chad got in on it and his girlfriend Sophia too. So we turned these people into us. These are ‘mirror verse us’.”

“Seriously,” Jensen said in disbelief. “Mirrorverse? Are you telling me you’re a Trekkie?”

“Live long and prosper dude,” Jared answered as he raised his hand in a Vulcan hand salute. Jensen cleared his throat and shifted his groin obviously. 

“Is anything about you not fucking hot?” Jensen muttered under his breath petulantly. 

“Dude, I could say the same thing.”

“One more dude and that’s it, whatever this is,” Jensen motioned between the growing sexual tension between them, “is gone.”

“Word is banished from my vocabulary,” Jared promised with utmost seriousness. He looked at the pictures and then back to Jensen. “So we made these four people Mirror Jared, Chad, Genevieve and Sophia. We went as far as to take pictures of ourselves in this exact pose and there is a whole alternate reality with us in them. We all have the same frame, the same picture … and let me tell you, it was fucking hard to get us all this exact frame with this picture in it. But we got them and we each have a copy. Depending on my mood, will depend on what picture is up front. And then if there is anything that is going on with us, we can just refer to Mirror Verse and how our alternate egos would deal with the problem or whatever and …” Jared blushed as he looked at Jensen who was watching him with rapt attention. “What?”

“I’ve known you for about two months,” Jensen said softly. “Since that first day you said you thought I was gorgeous I’ve wanted to take you to my room, strip you down and fuck you stupid. I’ve kept my distance because I wasn’t sure what this year would be, how I would be able to manage a relationship while focusing on my Masters and all of that, and with this one story. This one god damn mother fucking picture you have just made me want to step over any courting or planned romance I had laid out and fucking marry the shit out of you.”

Jared burst into laughter which turned into a yelp of surprise as Jensen pushed him onto his back and climbed upon him to straddle him. 

“I’m not kidding,” Jensen said, hovering over Jared’s mouth with teasing brushes of their lips together.

“I’m not stopping you,” Jared admitted honestly.

“What would Mirror Jared do in this situation?” Jensen asked with a grind of his hips against Jared’s erection, making them both moan. He hadn’t expected Jared’s laughter at the question. “What?”

“Mirror Jared?” Jared said with an impatient growl. “Has been fucking Mirror Jensen since that morning we met. He took him into the bathroom, fucked him against the shower wall and then ate him out until he came again, making him sloppy enough to fuck him a second time.”

Jensen’s rhythm faltered at Jared’s words, causing him to abandon all teasing and take Jared’s mouth with a hunger that surprised them both. When they pulled away Jared chased Jensen’s mouth and groaned at the loss of contact. Jensen looked down at Jared for only a few seconds before making up his mind.

“That. Happening. Now.” Jensen was up and off of Jared in a flash. Middle shower stall, three minutes. You’re not there, I’m starting without you and I might NOT let you come.”

Jared didn’t need to be told twice. In exactly two minutes and forty eight seconds he met Jensen in the hallway as they rushed towards the showers. They passed one of their hallmates along the way, laughing when they heard Aldis say “finally. The sexual tension was giving ME blue balls.”

As they shut the door they heard the other man’s voice boom down the hallways. “You don’t wanna hear the Jay’s fucking, I suggest you leave now. It’s gonna be a loud one.”

Jared pushed Jensen against the door and growled against Jensen’s shoulder, “they don’t know the half of it.”

 

Finis


End file.
